DAY
Anakin had just gotten severely beat up by a younger padawan during his hand-on-hand training; his emotions had once again turned against him. The boy, barely some weeks after his eighteenth birthday, without vacillating, walked out of the dimly lit room and stomped all the way towards his dorm at the other side of the Jedi Temple. He stormed out right in front of everyone present, forgetting to ask Master Yoda for any kind of permission.
He walked past many Jedi Masters and colleague padawans, all of who saluted politely. Anakin, however, ignored their many reverences and continued with his tantrum, keeping his head slightly bent and his eyes directed to the ground. His arms dangling by his sides with the pace of a livid stride.
Once the young Jedi got to the compartments of the giant structure, he immediately trudged towards the room he had shared with his master since his arrival to the Temple many years ago. Then, he slid the door open with a mad shove and crossed through the little kitchen and the open living room. He didn't expect to find anyone inside the dorm at that time of day, so he walked directly to the fresher across the snugly apartment, taking off his sweat-soaked Jedi robes as he walked with an angry smirk on his face, not caring to close the blinders of the wall-sized window on the large living room. The view was quiet beautiful, even with the over-population and the dirty air, the city of Coruscant managed to stay somehow stunning.
Anakin opened the fresher's crystal door with a slam, already naked, and turned on the water and the steam. He rested his head against the pale wall and stood there, breathing heavily as the warmth formed patterns on his stiffened back. His short blond hair, with the water, shaded into a light tan, his padawan braid dangling by his neck.
He shifted for more comfort. His tired yet willing palms went from sagging on his sides to slanting against the wall in front of him, where the water emerged from. The young Jedi sighed and then looked upwards, a soothing waterfall caressing his forehead and cheeks.
For a while, he let time consume him. Trying to forget about his failure as a Jedi. He closed his eyes and wandered off into nothingness.
...
Minutes had passed already when his meditation was abruptly interrupted by the loud noise of a door slamming shut. Anakin opened his blue eyes wide and his eyebrows hoped upwards. Almost slipping off balance, he instinctively covered himself with his bare arms. Then, after noticing that the sound had been originated from outside the bathroom, he turned off the water and the warm vapor. The Jedi slid the shower door open and, through the thick mist, began searching for a towel.
On the living room, the angry footsteps continued echoing, followed suddenly by a violent sound of shattering glass.
Anakin was already putting on the only towel available around his waist, but dropped it at the sound of the smash. He stayed put for some time, immobile, trying to decipher what was going on just outside in the living room.
The boy waited for some moments and when the noises quieted down, he picked up the green towel from the damp floor and covered his still-wet shaking body with the fabric. He paced himself towards the door, clinging with his feet to the damp ground trying not to slip, but hesitated when his hand got to the handle. For another while, he waited.
Once he counted to thirty and there weren't any noises, he opened the door slowly.
At first he didn't see anything; it was the same way he had left it when he had arrived. Three couches, which were empty, a coffee table with only some books on its surface, and the kitchen on the far end. There was nothing out of place.
Finally deciding that the sounds had come from outside the dorm, he stepped out of the fresher, still making a little search around the open spaces. Nothing on the living room, neither on the kitchen or in the little hall. After making sure he was alone, he undid the knot of the towel on his waist and he let it fall into the ground.
Anakin, his hair and his chest still wet, jumped into the couch, a bit frustrated by the happenings on the saber-free training. How could I have missed the hits? I was so concentrated on that Lannik kid? What's wrong with me? His self-doubt and blaming continued for many minutes while his body dried with the help of the soft touch of the air-conditioning. His eyes were closed, one of his hands on the back of his head and the other laying on top of his hairless chest. He breathed slowly and his heartbeat was calm and soundless. He listened to the sound of the busy city, trying to forget about the training.
"Oh Force, Anakin, put on some clothes!" The padawan fell to the ground out of shock, completely caught off guard. "You know, you are not the only who lives here." Obi-Wan had appeared out of nowhere, his white Jedi robes looked as clean as ever. He had apparently just arrived from a very important meeting; he never used those clothes unless it was a special occasion. His brown hair was combed towards his right and his beard was trimmed short.
Anakin's astonished expression hadn't yet worn off and he was beginning to blush.
Obi-Wan smiled at his apprentice, who rested face down on the carpet. Obi-Wan had noticed the redness beginning to flow towards the boy's cheeks. The Jedi Master giggled out-loud, only rushing more blood into Anakin's face. "Here." He picked up the towel from the ground and threw it at Anakin's exposed bubble-butt. "Cover yourself up kid, I won't look."
Anakin, noticeably embarrassed, swiftly stood up with a jump and rolled the towel around his waist. Once he was done, he turned to look at the city, not daring to face his master after such an uncomfortable situation. His cheeks still blushing.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes, noticing Anakin's humiliated gesture. The man had never seen his apprentice naked; he had walked in while he was showering before, but certainly not in a condition like this one. The man's eyes explored Anakin's entire body, damn he has been working out, but then stopped at the boy's waist, "Well, this is awkward." He smiled and then sighed, clapping his hands together. "Sorry, Anakin, I will let you continue doing whatever you were doing." He turned around and walked towards his room, a large smile covering his face.
Anakin was on complete shock. What did Obi-Wan think he was doing, he was just resting on the couch. I'm such an idiot! With his free hand he pushed his humid hair backwards and then exhaled, having forgotten how to breathe. A shiver ran down his spine and then he noticed, looking downwards. Apparently the young Jedi had an erection. "Shit.", he whispered before dragging his humbled self into his room and shutting the door close behind him.
...
Anakin dressed himself into his usual sleep clothing, a white cotton flamboyant shirt and some baggy shorts. Damn, what am I supposed to say now?
He knew that he had to face Obi-Wan sooner or later, after all, not only was he still his teacher, but he was also his roommate. The options lingered around his head for some hours as he tried to decide when and where he had to finally explain. The boy's pride had been hurt twice that day, and if there was a way to redeem himself from one of the moments, then he had to take action, so he jumped out of bed and sighed twice, then he walked out of his room.
There was an instant urge to turn back around once he was out. Anakin hesitated for a moment, one of his feet still hanging in midair, but when Obi-Wan turned and saw the boy halfway out into the living room, there was nothing the padawan could do but step out and face the man.
Obi-Wan was standing in the kitchen next to the trashcan, shirtless. Anakin had seen his master topless before, he always wore no shirt when he slept, but for some reason, maybe because of the embarrassing past events of the day, Anakin felt a tingle tugging at his stomach. "Uhm… hi." was all that came out of his mouth as he eyed Obi-Wan's tight chest.
"Hello." Was the quick response. He turned, giving his back to Anakin, and open the trash bin. Anakin could hear the pieces of glass landing on the inside of the metallic can. "I dropped a glass earlier on, right when I arrived." He stopped talking when he realized that it had happened almost at the same time than Anakin's awkward presentation. Without looking at the young man, he went towards the stove and turned the fire down.
Anakin really didn't know how to continue so he said the first thing that came to his mind, "That smells good." Force, you idiot! He wasn't lying though. Obi-Wan did have an incredible gift with cooking, and for the smell of it, whatever he was working on would taste great.
Obi-Wan smiled and kept on playing around with the pot and the spatula. "Thank you." He continued working on the food.
Anakin, not wanting to interrupt his master while his inspiration flowed, walked towards the kitchen's bar counter and sat down. He nibbled with his lip while he waited for the moment when Obi-Wan would be ready to talk.
It wasn't long. Apparently whatever he was cooking had already been prepared by the time Anakin walked in. Obi-Wan emptied the food from the pot to a large ceramic container. Spaghetti. Yes. Thought Anakin. He loved every one of the personal recipes his master grilled, but nothing tasted as good as his exceptional spaghetti. Anakin watched as the man poured the red sauce carefully over the noodles.
Obi-Wan noticed Anakin's expression and couldn't help but grin. "You go ahead and prepare the table, I'll get done with the food, okay?" He nudged at Anakin's arm so he would hurry while he used the spatula to empty the sauce out of the pot.
The boy set the table. Two forks, two plates and two glasses. "No, wait, Anakin, get the wine glasses."
Anakin was surprised by the instruction; they hadn't ever drunk alcohol for a simple casual dinner like this one. Now that he thought about it, they only had wine when there was a special event, like Anakin getting new beads for his padawan braid or when Obi-Wan got promoted into the Jedi Council.
Noticing Anakin's confused countenance he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bigger-than-usual bottle of wine, "Master Fisto brought it from his home planet, he only brought three bottles." He took out the glasses out of a drawer and nodded at Anakin to come to him. "He asked me to give it to you, he saw your training last week with the light-saber, he said you were extraordinary." Obi-Wan offered a big smile and handed Anakin the bottle of blue liquid, "Go ahead, open it."
Anakin, looked at Obi-Wan's big gray eyes for a second and then popped open the bottle with his hands, accidentally hitting Obi's forehead with the cork.
"SHIT!" Force, what is wrong with me today! "Master, sorry I'm so sorry!" Anakin moved hastily, trying to grab a napkin from the counter, but on his reckless movements he forgot about the bottle of wine that was still at his grip. Some of the azure liquor flew out of the bottle and landed on Obi-Wan's exposed chest. "Crap… I'm sorry." Anakin gripped the large napkin with his hand and then began cleaning his master's chest, rubbing tenderly at his slightly tanned skin. Obi-Wan decided to only watch.
He didn't stop until he felt Obi-Wan's warm strong hand clutch his shoulder. He paused and then looked up, finally noticing what he had just been doing. Oh, Force. He stepped away without looking at Obi-Wan's eyes and then walked towards the trashcan, where he let go off the soaked napkin.
When he was done calming himself down, he looked back, but Obi-Wan was now serving the spaghetti unto both of the plates. "Come and sit down, it's ready." The man sat down on one of the chairs and began pouring the wine. Anakin, glad that he didn't have to talk anymore, sat down next to Obi-Wan and tried the noodles.
Obi-Wan waited for Anakin to swallow and then asked, right before taking a sip of the wine, "So, how is it?"
Anakin smiled coyly and set the fork down on the plate, he was still chewing but he didn't want to wait to answer, "It's really… grhm… it's really delicious." He kept on smiling while he passed down the food with a heavy gulp of the wine.
"Slow down, there," Obi took Anakin's glass from his hand and placed it on the table, "you're going to finish it right away and most of it is already on me." He joked trying to make Anakin smile with him, but it didn't work.
Anakin's expression changed at the words from his master. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, it's just that… I just… I was distracted and…."
Feeling guilty for making Anakin uncomfortable, he cut off his apology, "It's alright, don't worry, at least now I will smell good." This time he tried the spaghetti himself, nodding with the first bite.
He is right. Obi-Wan now smelled like the exotic wine. You could say it smell the way it tasted, strong and straight yet it tingled on both the nose and the throat for some seconds.
Anakin watched for a while as Obi-Wan ate, not doing anything but admiring his master's movements. His chest rising and falling, his Adam's apple moving up and down, his cheek bones hopping every once in a while, "The way you grab the spoon, I hadn't noticed that before." Anakin took his own fork and mimicked the man's mannerism. Instead of holding the fork between his index finger and his middle finger, he held it between the middle finger and the ring finger. "Why?"
"I don't know, that's how Qui-Gon held it when he ate, I guessed I got it from him." He smiled at Anakin and the continued on eating.
Anakin also continued on with the meal but then stopped. It was now or never. "Master, about today, when you walked in on me…."
"It's alright Anakin, really it's fine." He put the fork down and then looked at Anakin closely at his eyes, admiring all of the fractions of his young face. "I felt really bad about it after on too, I feel like it was more my fault than yours, for making you uncomfortable. I should've just left without saying anything."
Anakin was baffled, that wasn't what he was at all expecting to hear. He didn't know what to say so he just grabbed his fork and continued on with the dinner. Obi-Wan followed, but then, right before they finished, he grabbed the bottle of wine and offered Anakin some more. The boy nodded and Obi-Wan served both glasses. They finished eating about the same time, but the bottle of wine was not at all emptied, they had forgotten that it was about twice the size of a Coruscant bottle. So they had a third and a fourth glass.
...
"You know what I really gets on my nerves?" They were both sitting down on the living room across from each other, the coffee table in between them, the bottle of wine standing half full on its surface. "I really dislike when Master Windu gives his sermons during the Council meetings."
Anakin giggled, both of his hands wrapped around the glass that rested on his lap. He imagined Master Windu on the summits, Anakin could barely handle the elder Jedi's glares and lectures during training, he didn't need to hear him giving reports about the Republic.
Obi-Wan's glass was on one of his hands, the other one stroked one of his exposed pectorals, "No, I'm serious, they are always the same, and his voice is so so dull." The radio was playing on the background, after the fifth glass of blue wine, Obi-Wan had turned on the music. He normally did so when he was reading or while cooking, but it just felt like a right time to let their minds flow with the tone of the slow ballads that Master Kenobi was such a lover of. "What about you Anakin?" He raised his glass and pointed it at his apprentice, who sat with his shirt's neck wide open. "What do you dislike?"
Anakin concentrated on Obi-Wan's face, his beard. When he first let it grow, Anakin had to hate it. He really disliked the years that the facial hair added to the man's complexion, but Anakin grew to like how it looked, it gave him an edge of some kind. So the beard was off the table. He thought for some seconds while taking another mouthful of wine. "I guess that I dislike… I dislike my combat skills." He went back to the evening of that same day, he remembered how the kid had beaten him up so easily, how he had felt so discouraged and weak. "I really dislike being a useless Jedi."
To this, Obi-Wan sat up, a bit surprised to hear the words coming out of his own padawan. How can he think like that? He straightened up and placed the glass on the table, "Anakin, why do you say that?" He rubbed his eyes and then looked straight at Anakin, preoccupied. "You are a great Jedi. Don't you call yourself useless, you just need to concentrate a bit more on your training… but you are not useless." Obi was really taken aback by this. Why hasn't he talked to me about this? I'm supposed to be his mentor. "Anakin…" he began but he didn't know where he was going, so he stood up and walked towards Anakin's couch. "Here, scoot over." The boy did as told and moved to give his master some space. Obi-Wan took away Anakin's glass from his lap and placed it on the table, then he grabbed Anakin's hands.
"You have to concentrate." He closed his eyes, expecting Anakin to follow his lead. "Are your eyes closed?" At this, the boy closed his eyelids. "Now I need you to remember this: When you are fighting, in the middle of a combat, what you need to do, the most important thing even before your strength or your speed or your agility, is your concentration. You have to be able to let go of everything and focus on just that one action that you must accomplish." He breathed deeply and Anakin followed. "You can open your eyes now."
Anakin opened his eyes and Obi-Wan's face was closer than he thought it would be, taking him by surprise. When Obi-Wan spoke, Anakin could hear him clearer than ever, "And remember that if you need something, I got your back." Then he smiled.
They were silent for some minutes, looking at each other and then laughing, making small talk and some jokes. Once in a while they would punch each other lightly on the arms or kick each other's feet under the coffee table. Some more minutes passed and they had finished the bottle of wine.
"Oh Force, I love this song." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and raised his hands; using the Force, he raised the volume on the speakers. The music resonated dimly through the living-room, a very slow and melancholy ballad emerging from the radio. Obi began to whisper the lyrics and he robbed his back against the couch with the rhythm of the music, nodding his head once in a while.
"Really? This song is boring." Said Anakin playfully. He chuckled for some seconds and then just nudged Obi-Wan's arm.
When Obi-Wan opened his eyes he found himself with one of his palms resting on one of Anakin's thighs. None of them had even noticed, they had been busy listening to the song carefully and watching images floating around their heads. Obi-Wan was too drunk to even question his hand's whereabouts, and Anakin so distracted that hadn't yet noticed.
"You say it's boring? Fine, let's make it fun." He winked at the boy and then he stood up. Obi-Wan yanked Anakin up with him by the hand. He placed his right hand on the Jedi's waist and his left palm on Anakin's open hand. Anakin was a bit startled by his master's closeness, but he really didn't mind, so he followed along.
Obi-Wan's chest rubbed against Anakin's thin cotton shirt as they moved in circles at the leisurely relaxing beat of the song.
"So, Anakin, you told me what you disliked, so, what do you like?" He led them both around the room, trying to not tumble against the furniture. The lights of the crafts passing by the Temple's walls giving a slight brink to the moment.
"I don't know, Obi, what do you like?" His eyes were closed, he trusted Obi-Wan as his guide.
The question made the Jedi Master wonder for some seconds while they kept on dancing. What do I like? He liked many things. Obi-Wan liked being a Jedi. He liked cooking and reading. He liked his job as well as the city they lived in. He loved the fact that everyone he cared about was okay. He loved serving people and he loved being Anakin's master. Anakin's master, yeah. He did love being Anakin's only master.
"I guess… I guess I love being your master, Ani."
Obi-Wan's words forced Anakin to a halt; it had been so long since Obi-Wan had called him Ani.
"What's wrong?"
Anakin looked at his master's round gray eyes, they shimmered with life, with wisdom and beauty. "And I love being your padawan…." And he kissed him.
An impulse he couldn't explain at the moment.
The first kiss was quick and soft. But once Anakin moved away, confused and ashamed, Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin's arm and turned him, just to able to hold him close. Then, after staring at each other for what seemed like eternity, Obi-Wan pushed his bare chest against Anakin and kissed him back. This time, though, it lasted minutes and it was stronger and deeper. Hungry and lustful.
...
This is my second fanfiction. I am currently writing a 'larger' story called Rescues for the ANI/OBI fandom, but the romance for the moment is at a stand-still so I decided to write a new story (shorter of course) to feed all of my readers who need to see more Ani/Obi tender moments.
For now enjoy this little story which will have many of those romantic cute moments scattered everywhere.
Hope you guys like it. I will try and update both stories as soon as possible! And also, I would really be grateful if you guys reviewed or messaged me for any comments or suggestions, THANK YOU!